Whew! What a weekend. The opening days of archery season were a rollercoaster. It turned out well in the end, though, as my summer scouting payed off with early season success.
09/24
Saturday was simple. I hunted all day. I did see two deer, but they were in such thick brush I wasn’t able to take a shot. Hunting all day without success is just a reality of the pursuit. I kept my spirits high throughout the day, but as soon as the sun went down it was hard to stay positive. Sunday proved to be much more interesting, so I’m going to move on.
09/25
I had planned to hunt Sunday morning, but I was exhausted from the day before. While I had physically prepared for hiking and packing out an animal, I hadn’t considered the strain of sitting still on the flat ground for hours throughout the day. (I don’t have any sort of tree apparatus at the moment). My back and core took a beating. On top of that, I hadn’t slept at all on Friday night due to anticipation. Instead of going hardcore with another early morning, I decided to take a break, sleep in, and go to church with my wife.
By about mid-sermon I was pumped again and chomping at the bit. I had to stop myself from checking onX multiple times. I could hardly focus. After church, I headed out to a location I had scouted pre-season. This area had multiple soybean fields and easy access, so I expected the hunting pressure to be high. That said, the wind was right and I was confident I knew where the deer would be. I decided to give it a shot.
I walked in along a dirt two-track running between the fields. As I walked, I noticed a spot where deer had been crossing the road to reach a water source on my left. To the right, there was a convenient line of timber dividing two fields and connecting to the most apparent bedding area. I did a double take. It was too obvious. The tracks were fresh and the day was hot. After a few moments of consideration, I abandoned my inital plan and decided to set an ambush.
I took some time and built a natural blind in finger of brush 30 yards down wind of the crossing. I decided that I wanted to be able to stand up in it, instead of sitting on the ground all day. I cleared out a few shooting lanes and then stopped moving around.
Around 5 pm I noticed five deer in field to my right, about 200 yards out. This got me excited, especially when they started browsing towards me. I quickly adjusted, trying to make sure I would have good shot if they came into range. At about 100 yards, four of the deer broke off and disappeared into the woods. However, a medium-sized fork-and-horn buck kept meandering towards me.
At this point, I made a number of mistakes. First, I dropped my range finder just out of reach. Then, after shuffling to pick it up, I ranged the buck itself, instead of ranging where the buck was going. That didn’t help much. Next, I shifted positions and accidently made a loud scuffing noise with my boot. The buck looked up, but I managed to stay still and he put his head back down. I raised my crossbow when he reached 43 yards.
I had decided to limit my shots to 40 yards or closer, and the buck was facing me. It wasn’t a shot I was comfortable with. By this time he knew something was up. He looked up again and saw me, shaking like a wet dog, trying to keep my crossbow steady for way too long. At that moment a squirrel hunter in fired a shot in the woods, making the deer flinch. He stood a few more moments, sussing me out, and then made a break for the woods. He was gone.
It was hard not to hang my head at that point. I felt nearly certain I had missed my only chance, and realistically, I should have been able to make it happen. A few moments later, a hunter walking in along the two track, right over the deer crossing I was set up on. (They actually didn’t notice me). It took a lot of effort to convince myself that I could still have another chance. I got ahold of myself and committed to trust my instinct. I could tell that deer had used used this crossing recently, and I was confident they would use it again. It was just a matter of when.
In the last half-hour of daylight, I was suprised to see a group of four does feeding in the same place I had spotted deer earlier. They fed towards me, exactly like the buck had done. I was ecstatic, and this time I did everything right this. I ranged a 40 yard mark that they would pass, instead of checking them repeatedly. I waited with my crossbow on my lap until they moved much closer. I only raised my weapon when they had their heads down. And then, at about 43 yards (again!), they disappeared into the line of timber dividing the two fields. They hadn’t notcied me, but I didn’t get a shot. I was crestfallen, but I still had hope.
Fortunately, the deer were headed to water. Three minutes later a doe stepped out of the timber median, right were I expected. Light was fading fast, but I could see plenty. I stood stalk still. She didn’t detect me and lowered her head. I raised my crossbow and aimed. In my head I thought, “shoot that doe!” I pulled the trigger well before I completing my shot process. I heard a gratifying “plop,” and the doe mule kicked before darting off into the brush towards the water.
Thought I had taken a shot, the night was far from over. I couldn’t find my arrow for the life of me, so I had no way to determine if the shot was good. There wasn’t a drop of blood on the ground. All I could consider was the sound of the impact and the mule kick, both of which were good signs. I also thought I heard the doe stop running, but there wasn’t much of a crash. The vegetation she ran into was incredibly dense. I spent half an hour searching for blood before deciding to grid search. I was concerned that I had gut shot her, and also wondered if I could have missed.
An hour later I stumbled onto the doe while combing through the underbrush in the direction she had ran. I was so relieved! Once I found her, I knew I would be able to take care of the meat in time. To sweeten the deal, I found that I had made a pass through heart shot. She had dashed 62 yards and expired quickly. I was able to break her down and pack her out without too much trouble. The time from when I shot her to when I put the meat into the fridge was only four hours. All in all, it was an excellent ending to a long, challenging, and exciting weekend hunt.
Persistence Outdoors 